Chanukah
(Hanukkah) for Kids
History
and Customs
Chanukah is known as the "festival of
Lights". It starts at sundown on the 25th day of the month Kislev on
the Jewish calendar. Chanukah celebrates both religious and military
triumphs of ancient Jewish heroes. This holiday lasts for eight days and
nights, and during this time there are blessings, songs, games, and
festive foods. Chanukah is a relatively minor holiday in the Jewish
community but it is very well known in the United States because it is
so close to Christmas.
This holiday does require a series of
customs to be performed during the eight days but Jewish people are not
required to refrain from other activities as with other holidays.
After the blessings most families will have a traditional meal, exchange
presents, play with the dreidel and give coins to the children.
Chanukah traditions include special foods such as potato pancakes called
latkes, and doughnuts known as sufganiot which are fried in oil. The
dreidel is a spinning top inscribed with Hebrew letters that are an
acronym for Nes Gadol Hayah Saham, which translates to "a great miracle
happened here".
The Greek-Syrian ruler Antiochus IV
tried to force all the people in his territory to practice Greek
cultures. This meant that the Jews of Judea could not perform their
most important religious practices as well as the study of the Torah.
Even though the Jews were outnumbered they felt obligated to protect
their community and religious beliefs. They were led by Mattathias the
Hasmonean and then his son Judas when he died. The soldiers were not
trained and they had simple weapons. They fought for years before each
battle they would go without food and pray. Finally Judas and his men
defeated the Greeks. They reclaimed the temple on Jerusalem's Mount Moriah. After their claim they
prepared the temple for rededication. When they went into the temple
they found only enough oil to light the temple for a single day.
Surprisingly the light continued to burn for eight days.
The lighting of the Menorah is the most
important Chanukah tradition. The Menorah is candle stand that has nine
branches. All the branches are the same size in height except for the
middle branch that is taller. There are usually eight candles put in
the Menorah, one for each day of Chanukah. The middle candle, the
shamash, is used to light the other candles. Every night they say a
special blessing and light another candle. The eight candles in the
Menorah symbolize the burning light in the Temple, as well as the eight
days of the Chanukah celebration. The menorah should be placed near a
window to remind others of the miracle of this holiday.
Recipes
Hanukkah
Cookies
Required Ingredients:
Note: Hanukkah shaped cookie
cutters are required for this recipe. They can be purchased at
your local craft store, or online at Crate&Barrel, which has a three
piece set for $3.95.
1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 egg
2 tbsp. orange juice
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. vanilla flavoring
Instructions:
Cream together butter and sugar then add egg, and orange juice. In
another bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly
add this to the creamed mixture and thoroughly mix. Blend in the vanilla
flavoring and place in the refrigerator to chill for several hours or
over night.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
On a lightly floured board roll out dough to an 1/8 inch thick.
Cut into "dreidel", "star" or "menorah" shapes and place on an ungreased
cookie sheet.
Bake for 8-10 minutes and cool
before removing from cookie sheet.
Hanukkah Latkes
Ingredients:
3 large eggs
1/3 cup of flour
5 large potatoes
1 teaspoon salt
oil for frying
Instructions:
Grind the potatoes and then mix
well with eggs, flour and salt . Warm oil in a large frying pan on
medium heat. Pour spoonfuls of batter into the warm oil and let it
fry for about five minutes. Turn over and let fry on the other side for
approximately three minutes. Remove from pan and place on a paper
towel to cool.
Hanukkah Games
Gift
Wrap Relay
WHAT YOU NEED FOR EACH TEAM:
Note: Two
players per team
Party favors
Box
Wrapping paper
Tape
Ribbon
HOW TO SET UP GAME:
Put out two party favors, one box, a sheet of wrapping paper,
tape and ribbon for each team.
Each team must race to wrap the favors in the box and tie a bow.
Of course there is a catch -- they must hold one
hand behind their back, The object is to make the partners
communicate and work together to complete the gift wrapping
task. The first team to finish wins the gift or the team with
the best time wins.
Word Scramble
In advance select ten -
twelve Hanukkah words and scramble them. Create a list of
scrambled words and a copy for each team. Be sure to mix up the
words on the sheet so that each team gets them in a different
order. Divide the group of children into even teams with 2
- 4 players per team. Give each group a list of scrambled
words and a pencil. Set a timer for 5 - 10 minutes. The
object is to unscramble the words as quickly as possible.
An adult should be available to write down finish times for each
group. The group that rearranges the maximum number of words
within the time frame is the winner.
Word Ideas
Latkes
Dreidel
Candles
Oil
Gelt
Chanukah
Hebrew
Prayers
Holiday
Eight
Maccabees
Shin |
Ktales
Ledierd
Nacseld
Loi
Etlg
Hakunahc
Breewh
Serayrp
Yadohil
Thieg
Camacsebe
Hins |
Chocolate Gelt Hunt
Step One -
Creating Baskets for Hunt
Start early and collect pint size strawberry baskets for each
child.
Pipe clearers
Inexpensive Hanukkah ribbon or construction paper cut in strips.
Let the kids weave the ribbon or construction paper through
the holes in the basket to decorate.
Use pipe cleaners to form a handle and attach to opposite
sides of basket. Decorate with traditional Hanukkah
theme.
Step Two The Hunt
Before guest arrive, check the
weather forecast to make sure all is OK and then hide the Chocolate Gelt
in easy as well as difficult locations throughout your yard. You want
to keep them challenged but not so much that they get frustrated.
Create a path to the location of the hunt. A good thing to
use outside to create a path or foot prints is sidewalk chalk. Assign each child a
specific number to collect so no child gets left out.
Make a
Dreidel
The Dreidel is a traditional game
children play during the Hanukkah celebration. The Dreidel is a
four sided top with Hebrew letters on each side:
נ (Nun),
ג (Gimel),
ה (Hei),
ש (Shin),
. The game is played in groups of
4-6. Each player starts with an equal number of playing pieces
(stones, pennies, candy etc..). Each player takes a turn spinning
the dreidel. If it lands on Nun the player receives nothing; The
Gimel means the player takes the whole pot; Hay means the player takes
half the pot; Shin requires the player to add a piece to the pot.
Each time the pot is emptied each player puts in a playing piece and the
game continues. If a player is out of pieces they are either out
or can ask another player for a loan.
Click here for pattern and
instructions for
Making
a Dreidel.
Spy Code Hanukkah Game
Use the code system below to
create a secret message for the kids to decipher. To make
it more fun set a timer.
Numbers Stand for Letters: For example 1 stands for A, 2 stands
for B, 3 stands for C etc...
A B
C D E F G H I J
K L M
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13
N O P Q R S
T U V W X Y Z
14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
YOUR
CODE COULD BE:
8 1
14 21 11 11
1 8
3 5
12 5 2 18 1
20 9 15 14
6 21
14
DECIPHERED
Hanukkah Celebration Fun
Hanukkah Activities
Hanukkah Word Search
Click here for
<<
printable format >>
then click file/print
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CANDLES
GELT
LATKES
HANUKKAH
OIL
HEBREW
HOLIDAY
|
MACCABEES
SHIN
EIGHT
DREIDEL
PRAYERS
MENORAH
STAR OF DAVID
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